Dr. Vern Cherewatenko

Not until I actually got this book into my hands could I see that its subtitle read "A medical approach that can slow, stop, even cure Type 2 Diabetes". If I'd known about the subtitle, I wouldn't have been interested in reading the book, since the "medical approach" bit indicated for me that it consisted of traditional precepts penned by a doctor, and also I am not particularly interested in Type 2 diabetes, only Type 1, which I myself have.

The author is in fact a doctor but then so is Dr. Bernstein, the author of an admirable book on diabetes, so that itself obviously doesn't disqualify him.

When despite my reservations I got started on the book, I discovered that a main part of the cure was the intake of a herbal extract called HCA, hydroxycitric acid) found in the brindle berry (Garcinia cambogia), together with chromium. Now I was previously aware of the beneficial effects of chromium in stabilizing the blood sugar, but I had never heard of HCA. You live and learn.

HCA "reduces craving for sweets and enhances the effectiveness of the body's own insulin --- (and) --- allows the muscles of the body to absorb more glucose". The chromium taken with the HCA also assists with the absorption of glucose by the muscles.

This information about the benefits of HCA for me immediately increased the interest and usefulness factor of the book,

The author informs us that 1) HCA has no side effects - in fact the brindle berry is used as a flavouring in curry in many Asian countries. 2) HCA makes the body more receptive to insulin.

However, I myself having type 1 diabetes presumably do not have insulin resistance and I certainly don't overeat, nor am I overweight.

The author makes no mention of whether or not type 1 sufferers can gain benefit from the use of HCA (though I assume from the above information that they can), and this is a definite shortcoming of the book. My pancreas apparently does create some insulin and I would definitely benefit by the mopping up of glucose from my blood-stream, though since I am underweight I would not benefit by the HCA "slowing down the rate at which carbohydrates is converted to fat".

The whole thing sounds very interesting both for diabetes Type 2 and Type 1 sufferers. I have sent a mail to the author asking whether he would recommend HCA for type 1 patients, but as yet he has not replied. By the way, I noticed that there was no mention of HCA among the multifarious other natural supplements referred to on his web site!

He states that diabetes 2 can absolutely be cured by means of HCA, chromium, exercise, diet and vitamins, and I'm sure he's right. He provides various examples of patients of his whose condition has improved greatly by following his cure.

There is a good chapter on the benefits of exercise, though the chapter on "healthy (!) eating" leaves much to be desired. He writes for instance "Get 50 to 60 percent of your total calories from carbohydrates". I don't find this in keeping with Dr. Bernstein's admirable precepts (eat 6g carbohydrates at breakfast-time and 12g in each of the two subsequent meals). I regard Dr. Bernstein as the absolute authority on diabetes. Also I don't find it advisable for the author, Cherawatenko, to recommend non-stick cookware which is known to be harmful.

Neither is his knowledge of cholesterol or saturated fat in any way up-to-date (see the works of Uffe Ravnskov and Malcolm Kendrick. or my reviews on their books). He subscribes to the old-fashioned view that it is harmful to eat egg yolks, and recommends margarine, the worst form of fat (see Udo Erasmus' book or my review on it). He is unaware of the fantastic benefits of coconut oil, in fact views it as harmful since it is saturated fat. He advocates a low-salt diet, and recommends the use of fructose (as far as I remember banned by Dr. Mercola) and of artificial sweeteners including the notorious Aspartame.

The author advocates a low-fat diet and does not distinguish between the various types of fats and oils, and thus fails to mention our absolute need for healthy oils, such as flaxseed oil, or mentions a product such as Udo's choice that contains an optimal balance between omega 3, 6 and 9.

The chapter on vitamins also shocked me somewhat, It contains erroneous information about the various vitamins, the problem mostly being that he states only RDAs, which are notoriously underestimated. He fails to indicate the fact that calcium should not be taken alone but together with magnesium, and that vitamins D and K2 for instance are also required for calcium to be properly absorbed.

He advises an intake of fluoride, which is known to be extremely harmful.

He says table salt is the best source of sodium. What about sea salt?

To his credit he does provide the helpful information that copper and zinc are needed for wound-healing - so thanks for that. (We with diabetes need extra help for wound healing.) Also he gives us the useful info that capsaicon, an extract of hot peppers, is effective against polyneuropathy.

(I admit that my edition of this book was published in 1999, and perhaps his publishers have issued a later edition where he updates his fallacious information. If so, my apologies.)

There is a useful chapter on de-stressing, and I like the following piece of advice: "Spend twenty minutes every day focusing on the positives in your life."

But he recommends the use of simvastatin, a cholesterol-lowering drug, and again these are known to be harmful,

To sum up, I would admit that this book does contain some good features, and would on the whole seem to be a really good, informative book, unless you happen to have some knowledge of health-giving foods, vitamins and minerals, in which case it can be seen that his information is erroneous and harmful.

Thus, I cannot recommend this book, though the jury is still out on the benefits of HCA. I am waiting to hear from the author as to whether he would still advise its use, since I can't find mention of it on his web site, and if so also for type 1.

Three stars are the absolute maximum number I can award for this book. Perhaps I should have given it two.… (mer)